Text:

Informant: La Cegua would appear to drunk men or mujeriegos (womanizers). When these men would walk alone at night where no one else is around after heavy drinking and being with other women and were on their way home, La Cegua would appear to them in the form of a beautiful woman. It would get really close to them. When the men would go to kiss her, instead of being beautiful, it was like the skull of a horse and her face was rotting. Some men would go crazy out of fear and sometimes even die of the pure shock of how ugly it was.

Context:

The informant learned about the legend of La Cegua while living in Nicaragua. La Cegua is a very beautiful looking woman that can be found in the mountains or woods. Typically, womanizing men who are out late at night, drunk, and cheating on their wives find her. At first, she appears to be beautiful but once she turns around, she has the head of a horse, terrifying men.

Analysis:

This Nicaraguan legend was functional, as it was likely taught to kids and teens to scare them from getting drunk, going out alone at night in the woods and mountains, and cheating on their spouses. They wouldn’t want to come across this woman with a horse face.